In partnership with DKII, we asked student filmmakers to reflect on what the 60th anniversary of statehood of Hawai‘i means to them. This collection of student films features the top submissions from middle school and high school student finalists who participated in the 2019 Fall Festival program.

A note from HIFF: Our deepest condolences go to the family of Irene Hirano Inouye, who sadly passed away recently after a prolonged illness. Hirano Inouye, born in 1948, was the president of the US-Japan Council, founded in 2008, and was also president and founding CEO of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles for 20 years. She held many distinguished roles as board trustees for many institutions such as the Ford Foundation and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Hirano Inouye was the widow of Hawai‘i’s long time senator Daniel Inouye.